September 2009 News, updates, &
pronouncements from Pat Ballard,
the Queen of Rubenesque Romances
Nobody can make you feel inferior
without your consent. Eleanor Roosevelt
Something to think
about....
(I Never Promised You A)
Rose Garden
I beg your pardon,
I never promised you a rose garden.
Along with the sunshine,
There's gotta be a little rain sometimes.
Written by Joe South—Recorded by Lynn Anderson
The second paragraph of the U.S. Declaration of Independence
reads: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all
men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator
with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life,
Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
(Emphasis mine.)
Now we know that "all men" are not created equal in all walks
of life. But we are all created equal in the unalienable
Rights to be allowed to pursue Life, Liberty and the pursuit
of Happiness.
The reason I'm using this example is the "pursuit of
happiness." Notice that there's no promise of happiness
itself, but rather the pursuit of it. The chasing of
it. As Benjamin Franklin says, "The Constitution only
guarantees the American people the right to pursue happiness.
You have to catch it yourself."
The "rose garden" isn't promised.
There are two kinds of happiness. One is the happiness that's
within. That's a wonderful thing to have. I believe some are
born with that inner happiness and the peace that "everything
will be okay." I usually have that. But inner happiness can
also be learned.
Then there is the happiness that comes from external things.
Goals reached. Things acquired. But those are happiness
flashes. Soon the euphoria is gone and one is looking,
pursuing, searching for something else to make one happy.
Personally, I believe you can gain inner happiness by truly
appreciating what you have. Instead of the constant search for
more, more, more—Stop. Look around you. Be thankful for what
you have and feel the inner peace settle in.
We tend to forget that happiness doesn't come
as a result of getting something we don't have,
but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.
Frederick Keonig
A
Word From Pat
Hi everyone!
I hope September has started out on a positive note for you.
As I mentioned in the August newsletter, I'm now the Events Chair
and the VP of the Nashville chapter of the Women's National Book
Association. Check us out at http://www.wnbanashville.org.
We've been busy trying to jumpstart the new season. WNBA meets on the
first Thursday of each month. from September through May.
Then a couple of weeks ago,
Peggy Elam asked me to co-host her Health At Every Size show
on Radio Free Nashville, so I'm officially doing that each
Monday from 10 to 11 a.m. CST. The show is streamed live over the
Internet, so listen in! It's also archived in mp3 format so it can
be listened to at one's own convenience. I hope soon we'll be able to take
callers. But that's a learning curve that we haven't yet conquered.
My son, Eric, and his family have battled the head/chest thing that
has hit so many people this summer. My granddaughter, Kayla, was
hit especially hard. It took her several trips to the doctor and several
weeks to finally start getting over it. Today (as I write this)
is her seventh birthday! Grandson Shaun is now nine. Wow. How
time slips (sprints) away.
I had the joy of keeping the grandkids last weekend. Eric and Tiffany
came over on Sunday afternoon and I cooked a big pot of pinto beans, some
cheese rice and oven "French fries." I totally enjoyed my weekend.
Husband Joe put down some new linoleum in the front bathroom and is
busily painting doors and door frames inside the house.
So August was pretty busy, and the beginning of September hasn't slowed
down.
As a young woman Pat Ballard almost died trying to starve her body into a
societally approved size. In 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter
What Size You Are) she shares the steps she created―and took―to
heal the damage of years of dieting. Join her in celebrating size
diversity, self esteem, positive body image, and health at every size.
Your body is a unique work of art.
There never has been, nor will there ever be,
another body just like yours.
Learn to love it and it will love you back.
More info at the Pearlsong Press website.
(All copies of 10 Steps
purchased from the Pearlsong Press website are autographed by Pat.)
Please share the 10 Steps book widget above with friends through
email, Facebook, MySpace, & other web media. Browse and share
excerpts from Pat's other books online at
http://www.pearlsong.com/patballardbookexcerpts.htm.
There is a new show on the Lifetime channel titled Drop Dead
Diva. (See
http://www.mylifetime.com/on-tv/shows/drop-dead-diva.) I'm
encouraging everyone to watch this show and please support the producers
who were brave enough to put it together.
In my opinion Drop Dead Diva isone of the
best things for the size acceptance and Health At Every Size
movements that has come along. It's better than a movie because it's an
ongoing series. One watches a movie, then forgets about it.
"Drop Dead Diva is Lifetime's spirited new comedic drama
series that puts a wildly unique and entertaining spin on the complex
issues of a woman's identity in today's world.
The show tells the story of a beautiful-but-vapid model wannabe, Deb,
who has a fatal car accident and suddenly finds herself in front of
Heaven's gatekeeper, Fred, who declares her a self-centered "zero."
Outraged, Deb attempts to persuade Fred to return her to her shallow
existence but is accidentally relegated to the body of the recently
deceased Jane Bingum (Brooke Elliott). A brilliant,
thoughtful and plus-size attorney with a loyal assistant (Margaret Cho),
Jane has always lived in the shadow of her more comely colleagues, whereas
Deb has always relied on her external beauty. Now, by a twist of fate and
a bolt of divine intervention, Deb must come to terms with inhabiting
Jane’s plus-size frame and learn to reconcile her beauty queen ways with
her brilliant new mind."
I don't have room in the newsletter to say all I'd like to say about this
show, so just check it out. But if you want to hear me rave about it, just
listen to Peggy and me on the August 24, 2009 HAES show :
http://www.pearlsong.com/audio/2009/HAES08242009.mp3 .
You can watch the past episodes on your computer if you have fast Internet
access. If you want some fun entertainment, start at Episode 1 and watch
them all.
Drop Dead Diva airs on Sunday nights at 8 p.m. (CST),
then again at 10, then replays on most Monday nights at 8 p.m.
Reader Review of the
Month
Editor's Note:
We're now featuring reader reviews of Pat's books in
The Queen's Proclamation.
Post a review at an online bookstore, magazine, or public website and
email us at proclamation @ pearlsong.com to let us know, and we'll
consider yours for inclusion in The QP.
"If you're a woman, odds are
you're not happy with your body. You probably can't remember when you
weren't at war with your belly or your thighs. (Men are beginning to catch
up with their own versions of body discontent.) Western culture provides
you with a steady stream of images and advice about an often unattainable
"right" way to look, feeding your feelings that you just aren't acceptable
as you are.
"Enter Pat Ballard with
10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No Matter What Size You Are)
to supply a badly-needed alternative voice! Ballard's easy-to-read,
easy-to-use volume is like having your own personal coach and cheerleader
for ending the warfare and making peace with the body you have. She's out
in front to show you the way, behind you to nudge you forward, and beside
you offering support and encouragement for every step (all 10!) of your
journey. She accomplishes this with guidelines ("...our bodies know what
they want to look like"), worksheets to practice new ways of thinking and
behaving ("...look for 10 good things about [your] body and try to develop
them"), and the greatest collection of inspirational quotes for body-love
and general self-respect you're likely to find anywhere (for example, from
Gloria Steinem, 'Each individual woman's body demands to be accepted on
it's own terms.' Or, from an unknown author, 'It's not who you are that
holds you back; it's who you think you're not.')
"10 Steps
is
your body's best friend in pocket form.
I'm delighted to have it on hand to recommend—personally and
professionally—to anyone struggling with body image and the inkling that
it's better to embrace than fight the one-and-only body you have."
Listen to the
mp3 recording of Pat, her fearless publisher, and
several other Pearlsong Press authors in a Pearlsong
Conversationabout creating fat friendly fiction and fat
positive characters.
Listen to a Feb. 11, 2009 Conversation with Pat Ballard
(blog post with link to 50-min mp3 recording of Pat talking about her
journey to
self- and body-acceptance and -love, her writing process,
and why a truly Valentine's Day and satisfying sex life starts with loving
your body,
no matter what it looks like.
Now available from Pearlsong Press—Pat's
latest (and first nonfiction) book, 10 Steps to Loving Your Body (No
Matter What Size You Are). See www.pearlsong.com/10steps.htmto order. All copies purchased directly from Pearlsong Press are autographed by the author.
Pat is now co-hosting Radio Free Nashville's
Health At Every Size show, which airs every Monday morning.
The show is streamed live
over the Internet 10-11 a.m. CST Mondays. You can
also subscribe to the podcast of the show (automatically receive the
mp3 recordings of the weekly shows on your computer, iPod or mp3 player)
via iTunes. Click on the "subscribe in a reader" button/link in the upper lefthand column, and select "Add to iTunes" or the podcatcher of your
choice.
Listen to the live
broadcasts over the Internet at
http://www.radiofreenashville.org/. You can also listen to
the live broadcasts through your telephone via UPSNAP.COM. See the
Health At Every Size show website or the Radio Free Nashville website
for details. Davidson County, Tennessee residents can also hear the show
live through the Secondary Audio Programming of Comcast cable's Channel
10.
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